Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai defeated Lin Xiaoqing, Gu Yuan, Lei Chong, and Chai Ming, taking their tribute red pearls and sparing them after Lin Xiaoqing promised to return Lin Xiaoqing's body. He then killed Ding Huo and warned Lin Xiaoqing and the others to honor their agreement after leaving Nine Heavens Primordial Ancestor Mountain.

• Lin Xiaoqing revealed that the original Lin Xiaoqing and Gu Yuan were still alive, so Lin Bai spared her and demanded her tribute red pearls and a promise to return the body.
• Gu Yuan, Lei Chong, and Chai Ming attacked Lin Bai, but he overwhelmed them with his sword techniques until they admitted defeat and handed over their tribute red pearls.
• Ding Huo offered his tribute red pearls, but Lin Bai refused to spare him because of their past enmity.
• Lin Bai used his flying swords as a feint, then pierced Ding Huo's throat with his demon sword and killed him.
• Lin Bai warned Lin Xiaoqing and the others to keep their agreement and return the body after leaving Nine Heavens Primordial Ancestor Mountain.

After Lin Bai defeated Ding Huo and the Heaven's Pride Alliance collapsed, the remaining battles on White Jade Plaza reached their conclusions. Hu Qi and A Ning defeated Tu Ziyun and Jian Kong, while the Old Eccentric urged Da Man to finish his fight so they could go eat meat.

• Lin Xiaoqing carried away Ding Huo's corpse as the Emerald Flames vanished into her sleeve, and Lin Bai thanked Yin Jiuling for warning him about Wu He's illusion.
• Lin Bai noticed Shi Jiamu standing alone, while Shui Qingling comforted her after the Heaven's Pride Alliance's defeat.
• Hu Qi tore apart Tu Ziyun's Martial Soul and won their battle; Tu Ziyun handed over most of his offerings and promised to challenge Hu Qi again.
• A Ning defeated Jian Kong, who conceded and surrendered his offerings, then told Lin Bai that their planned duel would have to wait until he recovered.
• The Old Eccentric called to Da Man to defeat his opponent and promised to take him to eat meat.

Old Eccentric and the Half-Demon beast defeated Feng Xiangtian and Bing Wuling, while Feng Wenjun defeated Leng Yun. As Hei Luo Jian Jiu faced the Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers, they fused into a four-faced warrior whose power surpassed the others, leaving Lin Bai wondering whether he could defeat them.

• Old Eccentric and the Half-Demon beast defeated Feng Xiangtian and Bing Wuling, who conceded and handed over their Tribute Red Pearls.
• Feng Wenjun found an opening in Leng Yun's fist technique, defeated him, and received his offering.
• The Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers ended their long fight with Hei Luo Jian Jiu by summoning their shared Heavenly Crippled Martial Soul.
• The Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers' bodies vanished into wind and sand, then reappeared fused as a powerful four-faced warrior who opened all eight eyes.
• Yin Jiuling recognized the fused brothers as the strongest fighters present, while Lin Bai wondered whether he could beat them.

The Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers fused into the Heavenly Crippled Demon Lord and fought Hei Luo Jian Jiu to a draw. With the rest of Heaven's Pride Alliance defeated, Lin Bai ended the battle of the prodigies on Nine Heavens Primordial Ancestor Mountain and suggested they fight again after entering Eastern Continent Academy.

• The Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers fused their martial souls into one and challenged Hei Luo Jian Jiu with their Heavenly Crippled Demon Lord form.
• Hei Luo Jian Jiu and the Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers fought for an hour, shaking the ninth level and destroying half of Nine Heavens Primordial Ancestor Mountain.
• Hei Luo Jian Jiu and Ling Yi agreed to call their battle a draw after Hei Luo Jian Jiu broke the fused form and both sides suffered severe injuries.
• Ling Yi explained that the Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers had held back against Hu Qi and Lin Bai on the sixth level, while Yin Jiuling judged Hei Luo Jian Jiu stronger than Wu He and Shi Zhongxian.
• Feng Wenjun noted that nearly all of Heaven's Pride Alliance had been defeated, and Lin Bai declared the day's battle over and proposed fighting again after they entered Eastern Continent Academy.

After the battle at White Jade Plaza ended, Lin Bai and the other fighters paid their respects to the Primal Ancestor Statue, where Lin Bai received an ordinary-looking gourd for his many tributes. The puppet overseeing the examination considered the candidates for the Demon Sect and focused on one person, but did not reveal his choice.

• Lin Bai and the wounded martial artists agreed to end their fight and walked together to pay respects to the Primal Ancestor Statue.
• The fighters offered tributes and received treasures, while Lin Bai discovered he had about one hundred and ten thousand tributes.
• The Primal Ancestor Statue gave Lin Bai a blue-green gourd with no spiritual might, and A Ning urged him to investigate its hidden mystery.
• The puppet atop the Primal Demon Eye considered several promising candidates before settling its gaze on one person as the Demon Sect's first orthodox disciple in fifty thousand years.

Lin Bai was secretly chosen as the Demon Sect’s successor and received its mark as the sect’s ancient puppet explained the Demon Sect’s history and urged him to hide his identity. After the puppet and Primal Demon Eye vanished, martial artists and powerful figures began searching for the newly chosen disciple.

• After the Monster Alliance and Heaven’s Pride Alliance battle ended, the human-shaped puppet focused on the martial artists atop Nine Heavens Primordial Ancestor Mountain.
• Ren Tiangao received an order from the Eastern Continent Academy’s Order Divine Court to find and kill the Demon Sect disciple without reporting back.
• Yu Wu secretly told Lin Bai that he had chosen him as this year’s Demon Sect disciple and warned him not to reveal it.
• Yu Wu explained the Demon Sect’s history, the destruction of its Dao Tradition, and the origins of martial arts such as Yin Jiuling’s Reincarnation Curse in the Yuanmo Sutra.
• Yu Wu placed a Demon Sect mark in Lin Bai’s sea of consciousness and urged him to hide his identity until he was strong enough to seek the Demon Sect Martial Hall.
• The Primal Demon Eye collapsed and the puppet shattered, prompting martial artists and powerful figures to search for the Demon Sect’s new successor.

The Demon Sect’s ninth level vanished after its puppet collapsed, leaving the identity of its chosen successor a mystery. Ren Tiangao was ordered to investigate the successor at the Eastern Continent Academy, then announced the examination results and arranged the disciples’ departure.

• The Primal Demon Eye and humanoid puppet collapsed, and the Demon Sect’s ninth level disappeared without revealing whom it had chosen.
• Lin Xiaoqing and Gu Yuan received a message ordering them to find the Demon Sect successor at the Eastern Continent Academy, and Lin Xiaoqing wondered whether Lin Bai was the one.
• Ren Tiangao reported his failure to identify the chosen disciple, and his superior told him to investigate at the academy and proceed as if nothing had happened.
• Chen Qin, Wu He, and Shi Zhongxian returned to the ninth level late at night, paid respects to the Primal Ancestor Statue, and did not attack.
• Ren Tiangao ended the examination and assigned ninth-level disciples to a golden spirit boat, fifth- through eighth-level disciples to a silver one, and those below the fifth level to a bronze one.

Ren Tiangao brought the new disciples to the Eastern Continent Academy, dropping off nominal and outer disciples in their respective rings before taking the inner disciples to the Star Sand Archipelago. He left them on Welcoming Island for a month of preparation before the Welcoming Assembly and academy assignments.

• After the examination ended, most candidates chose to join the academy, and Ren Tiangao departed Exiled Immortal City with them aboard three spirit vessels.
• Ren Tiangao left the nominal disciples in the third ring and the outer disciples in the second ring, then continued with the inner disciples.
• At daybreak, Ren Tiangao brought the golden spirit vessel to the Star Sand Archipelago and explained that its 1.56 million islands housed the inner disciples.
• Ren Tiangao landed on Welcoming Island and told the new disciples they would stay there for a month before the Welcoming Assembly and academy assignments.
• A martial artist asked Ren Tiangao what the Welcoming Assembly and academy assignments were.

Ren Tiangao explained the Eastern Continent Academy’s four courtyards and the upcoming Welcoming Assembly, where veteran disciples would test the newcomers. After recovering from his injuries, Lin Bai began planning to find out which courtyard Lan Ling was in before choosing one.

• Ren Tiangao explained that the Eastern Courtyard had the strongest resources and that newcomers could receive courtyard invitations based on their performance at the Welcoming Assembly.
• Feng Wenjun warned Lin Bai that veteran disciples would use the assembly to humble newcomers, and said his brother had been badly beaten there.
• Ren Tiangao told the newcomers to rest before the Welcoming Assembly in one month, and the injured Heavenly Crippled Four Brothers left to find a residence.
• Lin Bai found a residence near Feng Wenjun’s, healed his injuries, and rested before recovering his vital energy.
• Lin Bai decided to learn which courtyard Lan Ling was in so he could choose the same one and find her.

Lin Bai studied the Azure Gourd but could only discover that it held a vast amount of water and was extremely hard. As the Welcoming Assembly approached, Feng Wenjun told him about the Blue Family, leading Lin Bai to suspect Lan Ling belonged to the Southern Courtyard and decide to go there.

• Lin Bai spent days trying to uncover the Azure Gourd's powers, finding only that it could hold a great deal of water and could not be crushed.
• With five days left before the Welcoming Assembly, Lin Bai visited Feng Wenjun to ask about Lan Ling.
• Feng Wenjun explained that the Eastern Continent Academy had five ancient families, including the Blue Family, which possessed a Bloodline Inheritance Martial Soul.
• Feng Wenjun said the Blue Family had nearly been annihilated more than twenty years earlier, weakening the Southern Courtyard, which had once been the Academy's strongest courtyard.
• Lin Bai connected the Blue Family's calamity to the events he was investigating and decided to go to the Southern Courtyard.

Lin Bai connected the Lan Family’s survival to his father and realized that finding Lin Ling meant going to the Southern Courtyard. He joined the other new disciples as they traveled to the Flying Dragon Twelve Islands for the Welcoming Assembly, where veteran disciples prepared to challenge them.

• Lin Bai recalled Feng Wenjun’s account of the Lan Family’s near-destruction and suspected his father, Lin Duo, had saved them, linking Lin Ling to the Southern Courtyard.
• Five days later, Ren Tiangao summoned the new disciples to gather for the Welcoming Assembly.
• Lin Bai spotted former allies and rivals, including Lin Xiaoqing and Gu Yuan, and resolved to deal with them if they did not return Lin Xiaoqing’s soul and body.
• Ren Tiangao announced that the Welcoming Assembly would take place on the Flying Dragon Twelve Islands, and the new disciples boarded his golden spirit vessel.
• On the First Island, veteran disciples discussed the newcomers and the Devil Palace, while Ren Yu vowed to defeat the new disciples as their spirit vessel approached.

Lin Bai and more than five thousand new disciples arrived at the Flying Dragon Twelve Islands for the Welcoming Assembly, where twelve inner-court disciples introduced themselves as their opponents. The chapter ended with Southern Courtyard disciple Lan Yuxin introducing herself as the guardian of the Twelfth Island.

• Lin Bai and the new disciples landed at the arena, where Ren Tiangao explained that the gathered martial artists had come to watch them face the twelve disciples.
• Feng Wenjun recognized his elder brother Feng Wujun among the Eastern Courtyard guardians and worried about being beaten by him.
• Senior Brother Hou announced that the twelve inner-court disciples would face the newcomers at the Welcoming Assembly.
• Ren Yu, Mo Feng, and Feng Wujun introduced themselves as Eastern Courtyard guardians, with Feng Wujun threatening to repay the injuries he had suffered as a newcomer.
• Lan Feng welcomed the newcomers to the Southern Courtyard, and Ren Yu mocked him for it; Lin Bai took special notice of Lan Feng's Lan Family name.
• He Wei and Lan Yuxin introduced themselves as Southern Courtyard guardians, with Lan Yuxin assigned to the Twelfth Island.

At the Welcoming Assembly, Senior Brother Hou explained how the Twelve Islands challenge worked, and Lan Yuxin unexpectedly singled out Lin Bai. She told him that the Southern Courtyard would not accept him and urged him to choose another academy, leaving her reason unexplained.

• Senior Brother Hou explained that disciples could challenge the Twelve Islands to earn entry into an academy or accept a guardian's invitation and withdraw from the challenge.
• After the rules were announced, Lan Yuxin asked who Lin Bai was, drawing the attention of the veteran and new disciples.
• Lin Bai stepped forward and introduced himself to Lan Yuxin while onlookers assumed she planned to recruit him into the Southern Courtyard.
• Lan Yuxin told Lin Bai that the Southern Courtyard did not welcome him and that he should not join it.
• When Lin Bai asked why, Lan Yuxin gave no explanation, named the other three academies as options, and walked away.

Lan Yuxin rejected Lin Bai’s hopes of joining the Southern Courtyard and threatened to cripple him if he tried to force his way through the twelve islands. The Welcoming Assembly began on the First Island, where Lan Feng defeated challengers and invited them to the Southern Courtyard, while Shi Zhongxian fought his way onward.

• Lan Yuxin told Lin Bai that the Southern Courtyard would not welcome him and warned she would defeat and possibly cripple him on the twelfth island.
• Senior Brother Hou announced the start of the Welcoming Assembly, and the veteran guardians flew to their assigned islands.
• Lan Feng defeated the first new martial artist with one punch and persuaded him to accept a Southern Courtyard token.
• Lan Feng defeated more challengers and invited them to join the Southern Courtyard.
• Shi Zhongxian rejected Lan Feng’s invitation, fought him for thirty moves, and earned permission to advance to the Second Island.

Lin Bai challenged Lan Feng on the First Island after Lan Yuxin barred him from joining the Southern Courtyard, and defeated him with three sword moves. Lin Bai advanced to the Second Island, while Senior Brother Hou revealed that Lan Feng had not used the Lan Family’s Bloodline Inheritance Martial Soul.

• Shi Zhongxian and the other Heaven's Pride Alliance and Monster Alliance martial artists refused Lan Feng’s invitation and passed the First Island.
• Feng Wenjun also refused to join the Southern Courtyard and left for the next island.
• Lin Bai challenged Lan Feng, who said he would no longer hold back because Lan Yuxin had forbidden Lin Bai from joining the Southern Courtyard.
• Lin Bai used the Single Word Sword Art, Four Gods Sword Slash, and Three Foot Edge to wound Lan Feng and earn passage to the Second Island.
• Senior Brother Hou told Ren Tiangao that Lan Feng had held back and could have used the Lan Family’s Bloodline Inheritance Martial Soul.

Lin Bai reached the Second Island and saw Zhang Li mercilessly beating a new martial artist, even preventing him from surrendering. As Lin Bai watched, he recognized that the veteran disciples were tormenting newcomers, while the strongest contenders continued advancing toward the later islands.

• Lin Bai surveyed the islands and saw Shi Zhongxian on the Seventh Island, Wu He entering the Eighth, and many other prominent martial artists on the Fifth; Feng Wenjun had stopped on the Third Island after being beaten by his brother Feng Wujun.
• Senior Brother Hou and Ren Tiangao discussed the increasing strength of the island guardians and wondered why Lan Yuxin, the Southern Courtyard's top fairy, had joined the Welcoming Assembly.
• Veteran disciples on the First Island speculated that Lin Bai would choose an academy, with many expecting him to join the powerful Eastern Courtyard.
• Lin Bai arrived at the Second Island, where Zhang Li brutally beat a new martial artist and struck him down as he tried to admit defeat.
• Lin Bai recognized Zhang Li and coldly concluded that the veteran disciples were using the assembly to torment the newcomers.

Lin Bai confronted Zhang Li after the Second Island guardian beat and taunted the new martial artists. Lin Bai defeated Zhang Li with one sword strike, passed the island, and headed for the Third Island.

• Zhang Li beat a new martial artist bloody and kicked him into the sea, then challenged the remaining newcomers to fight him.
• The new martial artists called on Lin Bai, the last heavenly prodigy on the Second Island, to defeat Zhang Li.
• Zhang Li provoked Lin Bai by offering him a chance to join the Western Courtyard, but Lin Bai rejected the offer.
• When Zhang Li punched at him, Lin Bai struck him with one sword blow and told him the attack was a lesson for mistreating newcomers.
• Zhang Li admitted Lin Bai had passed, and Lin Bai flew toward the Third Island, where Feng Wujun was the guardian.

Lin Bai reached the Third Island, where Feng Wujun challenged the newcomers and invited him to join the Eastern Courtyard. Lin Bai rejected the invitation, leaving everyone wondering which academy he intended to choose.

• Lin Bai arrived at the Third Island and found Feng Wujun waiting in the arena after defeating several challengers, including Feng Wenjun.
• Feng Wenjun greeted Lin Bai and urged him to fight his elder brother, while Feng Wujun acknowledged Lin Bai's strength.
• Feng Wujun invited Lin Bai to join the Eastern Courtyard and handed him an invitation token, with Feng Wenjun also encouraging him to accept.
• Lin Bai declined Feng Wujun's invitation, shocking the martial artists and veteran disciples who wondered whether he planned to enter the Northern Courtyard.

Lin Bai refused invitations from the Eastern and Northern Courtyards and continued past the Third and Fourth Islands. He reached the Fifth Island, where Western Courtyard guardian Hong Wenhai confronted him.

• Feng Wujun let Lin Bai pass the Third Island, while Feng Wenjun reaffirmed their friendship and suspected Lin Bai had a larger purpose at the academy.
• Lin Bai refused Su Mo's invitation to join the Northern Courtyard, and she let him pass the Fourth Island without a fight.
• The veteran disciples on the First Island reacted with confusion after learning Lin Bai had rejected the Northern Courtyard as well.
• Lin Bai arrived at the Fifth Island and watched a newcomer surrender to Hong Wenhai and accept the Western Courtyard's invitation.
• After the newcomer warned Lin Bai that Hong Wenhai would beat him if he refused, Lin Bai entered the arena, and Hong Wenhai asked whether he was the year's number-one sword cultivator.

Lin Bai defeated Hong Wenhai on the Fifth Island with a single sword and continued to the Sixth Island. There, Mo Feng challenged him to break through a fierce storm before he could fight.

• Hong Wenhai attacked Lin Bai, but Lin Bai stopped him with a sword at his throat without moving from his spot.
• Hong Wenhai conceded the Fifth Island, praised Lin Bai’s swordsmanship, and warned him that the islands ahead had stronger martial artists.
• Hong Wenhai wondered why Lin Bai had refused academy invitations, as Lin Bai flew toward the Sixth Island.
• Mo Feng told Lin Bai he had to cross the storm surrounding the Sixth Island before earning the right to fight him.
• Lin Bai wrapped himself in azure lightning and stepped into the fierce winds.